■■  \l£*.  \ $ 

CATAL 


OF  A 


ELECTION  OF  ETCHINGS 


BATTIST 


PIRANESI 


v.  - ., :- 


BELONGING  TO  THE 

Drrtcs  COLLECTION 

' 


M p fee ' ,< - 
*C^: - >§3^V’  v 


tiIPPfftS 


ON  EXHIBITION  AT 


MOUNT  KISCO,  NEW  YORK 


FROM  OCTOBER,  1903,  TO  MARCH 


1904 


CATALOGUE 


OF  A 

SELECTION  OF  ETCHINGS 

BY 

GIOVANNI  BATTISTA 
PIRANESI 

? 

BELONGING  TO  THE 

CURTIS  COLLECTION 


ON  EXHIBITION  AT 

MOUNT  KISCO,  NEW  YORK 
FROM  OCTOBER,  1903,  TO  MARCH 
1904 


INTRODUCTION. 


Accounts  differ  as  to  the  date  and  place  of  Piranesi's 
birth.  According  to  some,  he  was  born  in  Rome  in  1707, 
while  others  state  that  he  was  born  in  1721;  but  the  date 
most  generally  accepted  is  1720,  and  the  place  of  birth, 
Venice.  At  all  events,  we  know  that  he  was  born  in  the 
early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  that  he  died  on 
November  9,  1778. 

He  was  an  architect  by  profession,  but  had  he  not 
etched  the  remarkable  series  of  plates  by  which  he  is  now 
known  we  should  probably  never  have  heard  his  name. 
These  plates,  done  for  the  most  part  on  a very  large  scale, 
were  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  selling  to  the  public 
representations  of  the  celebrated  buildings  and  ruins  of 
Italy,  chiefly  in  or  near  Rome,  exactly  as  a photographer 
would  sell  a series  of  photographic  views  to-day.  The 
prints  were  usually  bound  in  sets,  which  necessitated  the 
folding  of  the  larger  ones,  much  to  their  injury  in  a great 
many  cases.  The  most  important  of  these  sets  are  the 
“Vedute  di  Roma,"  “Antichita  Romane,"  “Antichita 
di  Cora,"  “Antichita  d'Albano  e di  Castel  Gandolfo,"  the 
views  of  the  temples  of  Paestum,  and  the  “Carcere 
d'invenzione  nuova,"  which  last  does  not  contain  views  of 
actual  buildings,  but  is  a series  of  prisons  drawn  from 
imagination. 

Piranesi  claims  our  attention  from  two  points  of  view, 
the  archaeological  and  the  artistic.  Archaeologically  his 
works  are  of  great  interest,  especially  as  many  of  the 
buildings  and  ruins  drawn  by  him  have  since  disappeared 


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or  have  undergone  numerous  changes,  and  his  records 
enable  us  to  see  some  of  the  old  Eoman  remains  as  they 
were  a hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 

But  interesting  as  is  his  work  from  the  documentary 
side,  it  is  as  an  artist  that  he  makes  his  greatest  appeal 
to  us.  With  the  single  exception  of  Charles  Mery  on,  no 
one  has  ever  etched  architecture  so  artistically  and  at  the 
same  time  with  so  much  feeling  as  Giovanni  Battista 
Piranesi.  He  put  into  his  work  an  individual  charm,  the 
outcome  of  his  own  poetic  temperament,  while  preserving 
a most  faithful  rendering  of  the  building  before  him.  In 
common  with  Meryon,  he  gives  us,  as  no  other  etcher  has, 
renderings  of  architecture  which  breathe  the  very  spirit  of 
the  buildings  themselves,  walls  built  up  stone  upon  stone, 
houses  in  which  we  feel  three  dimensions ; and  while  doing 
this  he  goes  farther  still  and,  like  Meryon,  gives  us  a 
subtle  touch  here  and  there,  adding  light  and  shade  in  a 
fascinating  manner,  putting  life  into  his  work  by  little 
figures  which,  though  not  wonders  of  drawing,  serve 
their  purpose  well;  and  thus,  by  a something  added  of 
his  own,  he  produces  pictures  which  show  us  the  build- 
ings in  their  most  charming  aspect  and  make  them 
more  real  than  they  could  be  made  by  any  one  who 
lacked  his  poetic  feeling  and  artistic  sense.  Every 
building  has  its  own  individuality.  Its  character  is 
portrayed  with  as  much  study  and  as  much  insight  into 
its  nature  as  a great  portrait  painter  would  give  to  the 
depicting  of  his  model.  Unlike  some  of  the  modern  men 
who  have  obtained  reputations  for  their  etching  of  archi- 
tecture, Piranesi  does  not  treat  every  piece  of  architecture 
in  the  same  manner,  with  the  result  that  everything  is 
sacrificed  to  his  particular  mannerism  and  that  an  old 
Eoman  ruin  has  the  same  aspect  as  a Eenaissance  build- 
ing. His  own  personality  is  kept  in  his  work;  but  he 
knows  how  to  combine  his  individuality  with  that  of 
the  building  he  is  etching,  and  even  through  his  poetic 
instincts  to  give  more  intensity  to  its  character  by  show- 


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ing  us  his  feeling  for  its  beauty  or  whatever  of  interest  he 
sees  in  it. 

Piranesi  was  a master  technician.  His  handling  of 
his  plates  from  the  technical  side  is  remarkable.  He 
had  a minute  way  of  drawing  details  which  one  would 
think  ought  to  have  produced  results  anything  but  broad 
in  character.  And  especially  is  this  so  when  we  consider 
the  great  size  of  many  of  his  finest  plates  and  the  small 
instrument  with  which  he  had  to  work  in  covering  so  large 
a surface.  But  broadness  does  not  depend  upon  the  few- 
ness of  lines  with  which  a thing  is  expressed.  It  depends 
upon  the  seeing  of  things  as  a whole  and  the  keeping  of 
all  the  parts  in  proper  relation  to  one  another,  and  in 
proper  subordination  to  the  general  effect.  This  Piranesi 
understood  to  perfection.  Even  in  his  largest  plates  he 
knew  exactly  how  to  hold  together  the  relationship  of  all 
the  parts.  Every  part  is  drawn  with  care,  but  with  such 
truth  in  its  relation  to  every  other  part  that  the  result  is 
a work  perfect  in  harmony,  and  giving,  as  it  should  give, 
a feeling  of  completeness  which  makes  us  lose  sight  of  the 
details  in  the  contemplation  of  the  whole.  Not  until  we 
have  given  attentive  study  to  the  details  do  we  begin  to 
realize  the  beautiful  way  in  which  every  portion  of  the 
composition  is  handled. 

In  his  “Prisons,”  Piranesi  touches  a different  note  from 
what  we  have  in  his  other  work.  Here  reality  is  not 
sought,  and  a style  of  execution  is  developed  differing  en- 
tirely from  his  usual  manner.  He  works  more  freely, 
though  not  in  a larger  way.  The  “Prisons”  being  crea- 
tions of  his  imagination,  he  is  at  liberty  to  let  himself 
go  to  anything  he  pleases;  and  while  the  results  are  less 
great  than  his  work  in  other  directions,  the  series  is  full 
of  fascination.  It  is  composed  of  plates  in  most  of 
which  we  feel  the  imagination  of  an  “Arabian  Nights’  ” 
story — interior  views  of  gigantic  structures,  now  piling 
up  in  seemingly  endless  masses  of  masonry,  arch  above 
arch,  and  wall  above  wall,  until  one’s  brain  is  lost  in  the 


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following  of  it  all,  now  overpowering  us  with  their  tre- 
mendously ponderous  walls  and  arches  made  to  resist 
one  knows  not  what  human  or  superhuman  attack. 

Piranesi’s  work  is  very  unequal  in  artistic  merit,  and 
the  reason  for  this  is  obvious.  He  etched  some  thousand 
plates  in  all;  and  out  of  these  a large  proportion  were 
subjects  that  had  no  artistic  attraction  for  him  whatever. 
They  were  done  because  of  the  interest  they  would  have 
for  the  public,  and,  the  artistic  element  being  absent,  they 
do  not  appeal  to  us  as  works  of  art.  That  an  artist  should 
etch  hundreds  of  plates  merely  because  the  public  de- 
manded them,  when  he  himself  saw  nothing  in  them  from 
the  artistic  side,  would  seem,  at  first,  to  be  a debasing  of 
his  art;  but  we  must  remember  the  two  points  of  view 
from  which  Piranesi’s  work  was  done.  To  him  the  de- 
picting of  the  buildings  and  ruins  of  his  country  was  of 
great  importance  even  when  the  buildings  were  not  artis- 
tically interesting  to  him;  and  we  should  judge  his  work 
from  his  standpoint.  We  should  consider  the  majority  of 
his  plates  from  the  archaeological  side,  bearing  in  mind 
that  photography  did  not  exist  in  his  day,  and  be  thankful 
for  the  many  wonderful  plates  in  which  he  did  have  op- 
portunities to  reveal  his  artistic  side  with  such  results  as 
we  see  in  him  when  he  is  at  his  best. 

Atherton  Curtis. 


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CATALOGUE. 


Views  of  Kome.  (“Vedute  di  Roma.”) 

Published  in  1748. 

1.  The  Piazza  Navona. 

The  fountain  in  the  centre  and  the  one  in  the  fore- 
ground are  by  Bernini.  At  the  left  is  the  church  of 
S.  Agnese. 

2.  Square  of  St.  John  Lateran. 

In  the  centre  are  seen  the  Lateran  Palace,  now  used 
as  a museum,  and  the  south  entrance  of  the  church 
of  St.  John  Lateran,  which  is  attached  to  the  palace. 
The  octagonal  building  at  the  right  is  the  baptis- 
tery. 

3.  St.  Peter's. 

The  cathedral  was  begun  in  1506  and  was  consecrated 
in  1626.  Its  cost  up  to  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century  had  amounted  to  about  $50,000,000  in  ac- 
tual money;  but,  taking  into  account  the  difference 
in  the  value  of  money  then  and  now,  its  real  cost 
was  four  or  five  times  this  amount.  The  building 
was  designed  originally  by  Bramante,  but  little  re- 
mains of  his  plans  owing  to  the  changes  made  by 
the  many  architects  who  succeeded  him.  The  dome 
is  the  work  of  Michael  Angelo,  and  the  f agade  is  by 
Carlo  Maderna.  The  colonnades  were  erected  by 
Bernini  in  1667.  Over  the  right  colonnade  is  seen 
a part  of  the  Vatican  Palace. 

4.  Interior  of  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore. 

The  interior  dates  from  the  time  of  Sixtus  III,  in  the 

fifth  century.  The  ceiling  was  designed  by  Giu- 
liano  da  Sangallo  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 


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5.  The  Island  of  the  Tiber.  (Isola  Tiberina.) 

6.  The  Wall  of  Tarquin  and  the  Cloaca  Maxima. 

The  Cloaca  Maxima,  the  outlet  of  which  is  the  near- 
est arch  in  the  wall  at  the  water’s  edge,  was  built 
by  Tarquinius  Priscus,  about  600  b.c.,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  draining  the  Forum  and  the  surrounding 
low  ground.  It  still  does  good  service.  Above  the 
buildings  in  the  foreground  is  seen  the  Round 
Temple  shown  in  No.  10. 

7.  The  Colosseum. 

Originally  called  the  Amphitheatrum  Flavium.  Its 
present  name  dates  from  the  eighth  century.  The 
building  was  completed  by  Titus  in  80  a.d.  Its 
circumference  is  nearly  one  third  of  a mile  and 
it  had  seats  for  87,000  spectators. 

8.  The  Pantheon. 

Built  by  Agrippa,  son-in-law  of  Augustus,  in  27  b.c. 
It  is  the  only  ancient  edifice  in  Rome  which  is 
still  in  complete  preservation  with  walls  and  roof. 
The  two  bell-towers,  constructed  by  Bernini  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  were  removed  in  1883. 

9.  The  Portico  of  the  Pantheon. 

10.  Temple  of  Cybele. 

The  name  here  given  is  Piranesi’s,  but  the  temple  was 
more  probably  dedicated  to  Hercules  or  to  Mater 
Matuta,  goddess  of  dawn  and  of  birth.  It  is  now 
often  called  “ Round  Temple,”  because  of  the  un- 
certainty of  its  ancient  name. 

11.  Remains  of  the  Forum  of  Nerva. 

12.  The  Porta  Maggiore. 

The  gateway  was  originally  one. of  the  arches  of  the 
aqueduct  built  by  Claudius  in  52  a.d. 

13.  The  Ponte  Salario. 

The  bridge  was  blown  up  during  the  invasion  of 
Garibaldi. 


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14.  Ruins  of  the  Aqueduct  of  Nero. 

15.  Tomb  of  Cecilia  Metella,  on  the  Via  Appia  near 

Rome. 

Csecilia  Metella  was  the  daughter  of  Metellus  Cre- 
ticus  and  wife  of  the  younger  Crassus,  son  of  the 
triumvir. 

16.  Temple  of  Bacchus  in  the  Environs  of  Rome.  (Ex- 

terior View.) 

This  old  Roman  tomb,  which  for  many  years  was 
thought  to  have  been  a temple  of  Bacchus,  is  now 
the  church  of  San  Urbano.  It  was  converted  into 
a church  probably  in  the  eleventh  century. 

17.  The  Same  Temple.  (Interior  View.) 

18.  Villa  of  Maecenas  at  Tivoli.  (Exterior  View.) 

This  is  a misnomer,  though  it  is  the  name  by  which 

it  is  still  known. 

19.  The  Same  Villa.  (Interior  View.) 

20.  A Gallery  in  the  Villa  of  Hadrian  near  Tivoli. 
The  villa,  with  its  grounds,  occupies  an  area  of  sev- 
eral square  miles.  It  was  built  by  Hadrian  toward 
the  end  of  his  reign.  He  died  in  138  a.d.  Many 
of  the  most  valuable  treasures  of  ancient  art  now 
in  the  museums  of  Rome  were  found  in  the  ruins  of 
this  villa. 

21.  Temple  of  the  Sibyl  at  Tivoli. 

Thought  by  some  authorities  to  have  been  a temple 
of  Vesta  or  of  Hercules. 

Roman  Antiquities.  (“Antichit  a Romane.”) 

Published  in  1756. 

22.  The  Forum  of  Nerva. 

23.  The  Forum  of  Nerva,  showing  the  Colonnacce. 
In  the  “ Colonnacce  ” are  seen  the  remains  of  the 

Temple  of  Minerva,  which  stood  formerly  at  the 
end  of  the  Forum. 

24.  Ruins  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Tonans. 


Antiquities  (Antichita)  of  Albano  and  of  Castel 
Gandolfo. 

Published  in  1762. 

25.  Remains  of  Roman  Baths  in  the  Vineyard  of  the 

Jesuits  at  Castel  Gandolfo. 

Antiquities  of  Cora.  (“  Antichita  di  Cora.”) 

Published  in  1763. 

26.  Temple  of  Hercules. 

27.  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux. 

The  Temples  of  P^estum. 

Published  in  1778. 

P 9bs turn,  near  Naples,  was  founded  by  the  Greeks 
about  600  b.c.,  its  ancient  name  being  “Poseidonia.” 
There  are  still  standing  the  ruins  of  three  temples 
which  are  the  finest  examples  of  their  kind  to  be 
found  outside  of  Athens.  The  Temple  of  Neptune, 
which  is  earlier  than  the  other  two,  is  one  of  the 
oldest  existing  specimens  of  Greek  architecture. 

28.  View  of  the  Three  Temples. 

In  the  foreground  is  the  so-called  Basilica;  in  the 
distance  is  the  Temple  of  Ceres,  or,  as  some  say,  of 
Vesta;  and  between  the  two  is  the  Temple  of  Nep- 
tune. 

29.  The  Pronaos  of  the  Temple  of  Neptune. 

30.  The  Cella  of  the  Temple  of  Neptune. 

Prisons  of  New  Device.  (“  Carcere  d’invenzione 
nuova”) 

Published  in  1750. 

31.  Plate  XIII. 

32.  Plate  XIV. 

33.  Plate  XV. 


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